Ayurveda & How It Relates To Metabolism

Ayurveda is an interesting concept rooted in ancient Indian culture; this idea consists of many stemming subcategories and is considered to be a type of “holistic medicine”. Holistic medicine is a treatment that factors in mental and social well-being on top of immune health, rather than focusing solely on symptoms of disease. Ayurveda evaluates the connections between mind & body to provide a unique & personalized care for a patient. Many concepts of Ayurveda are derived from cultural beliefs in ancient India and concepts observed in the Hindu religion - suggesting that the mind, body, & spirit are connected. When the homeostasis or balance between these systems are disrupted it compromises the natural environment of the human body.

This idea of connection between different parts of your body is really intriguing and has been a topic that I have researched frequently. Mental health plays a crucial role in influencing the overall health and well-being of an individual. When a body is stressed or overworked, it can compromise your immune system; making you more vulnerable to disease or infection. This also applies to the connection between our bodies and the environment. When we are living in an environment that challenges the means of homeostasis in our bodies (whether it be physical or emotional), this imbalance can cause a disruption leading to the development of sickness or disease.

Metabolism is an extremely important set of processes that occur within an organism in order for normal functioning within the body. Metabolism, on the basic level, is the chemical process of turning food into energy and resources our body needs. Despite this simple definition, metabolism is actually a quite complex and intricate set of reactions producing different products & reactants necessary for proper system functioning within a living organism. Without these metabolic pathways, life would be improbable. These chemical engines are a crucial building block on the overall concept of life, and how to define it. Like all life’s processes it is a very complex system with little explanation to how it got here or why it works… it just does.

Metabolic pathways have to be tightly regulated and correctly controlled for the system to work properly. Regulation is extremely important especially in a complex system, such as the metabolic pathway. In the human body, I have learned that too much or too little of anything can be a bad thing. It throws off the homeostasis of the system causing failure or inefficiency in the body. Regulation helps to maintain homeostasis by controlling the pathways activity based on the needs of the system and the resources available.

In the metabolic pathway, there are many regulators to ensure proper functioning within the network - one of the most important regulators being Insulin. Insulin is the key factor in being able to use the energy produced by metabolism (during Krebs cycle). Insulin helps to maintain homeostatic requirements of the system by regulating glucose levels in the body. Insulin's main role is to help move glucose from your blood into your cells to use as energy. Insulin is also responsible for the reuptake of glucose by your muscles, liver & fats - this reuptake maintains proper glucose levels circulating in the body while also providing an energy storage for when it's needed.

Diabetes is a disease that truly tests the importance of regulators in the metabolic pathway and how the lack of regulation results in an extreme imbalance in the body. Type I Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease in which those affected have little to no insulin production due to damaged or “foreign” (autoimmunity) Beta cells in the Pancreatic Islets. With the lack of insulin in individuals with Type I Diabetes, the most noticeable effect is the inability to move glucose from the blood into the cells resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Despite this being the most noticeable effect, the chemical imbalance within the system causes disruptions in a variety of body systems. A decrease in the production of Insulin also leads to the decrease in Amylin (as it is co-secreted with Insulin), thus leading to the digestive system absorbing more glucose. Type I Diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease (affecting the immune system - causing inflammation) as T cells attack the Beta cells in the Pancreatic Islets. In a patient with Type I Diabetes, we see improper functioning of the liver (increased production of glucose), muscles (decrease glucose reuptake), and fats (increase lysis of fat energy stores). So what can we do to properly treat and/or cure this unruly disease?

Well the most simplistic answer revolves around the concepts and benefits of basic exercise. Exercise is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body, no matter the condition your body may be in. Exercise can be used to help boost your immune system, improve your respiratory system, improve your mental state, and much more. Exercise is a great way to help improve your condition if you are suffering from Diabetes. During exercise your muscles have a higher affinity towards Insulin, as glucose intake is crucial to produce the necessary energy for muscle contractions. More glucose intake from your muscles can help to stabilize your blood glucose levels and thus ease the symptoms of diabetes.

My first experience with this concept of “Ayurveda” was through a Yoga class. Yoga is a type of exercise & therapy that takes this concept of mind & body to help improve muscle strength, breathing, and balance through the practice of meditation & pranayama (regulated breathing). Pranayama is a great practice of Ayurveda because it practices stronger breathing which helps to enhance oxygen circulation in the blood and reduce stress in the body. Practicing slow deep breathing helps to lower the production of glucose in your liver and increase the insulin sensitivity in your body - this proves to be beneficial in the treatment of Diabetes. This practice overall boosts immune functioning and could potentially help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening. Exercise is a great treatment option, but it isn’t a cure.

Is there a cure for diabetes? Well… not really, but researching this idea of a “cure” I discovered an experimental treatment that sounded pretty promising. The treatment suggested is a Pancreatic Islet Transplantation. This procedure takes donor Islets (from deceased organ donors) which contain healthy Insulin-producing Beta cells and transplants it into the affected patient (individuals with Type I Diabetes). To prevent an immune intensive response patients that undergo this treatment will be put on immunosuppressants to prevent transplant rejection. Unfortunately taking immunosuppressants weakens the immune system, shifting the imbalance to another system in the body.

Chemical processes occur constantly throughout our body to ensure this state of homeostasis. In Ayurveda, the concept of homeostasis or equilibrium represents a healthy individual as all parts - body, mind, & spirit - are working unanimously. Imbalances within the body cause overproduction or underproduction of necessary chemicals for survival (Insulin shortage in the case of Diabetes), thus causing a state of disease. Without the proper functioning of metabolic processes, the body is thrown into a compromised state. Because our bodies are so complex and specific; it can get quite difficult to cure a disease without causing a different imbalance within the body. Hopefully with more research alongside advancements in our knowledge of medicine & technology we can find more viable cures to chronic conditions.